The core principle governing software maintainability posits that code duplication is not exclusively a violation of abstraction norms but can be theoretically justified under specific constraints regarding domain complexity and refactorability costs. Within the discipline of Software Engineering, specifically in Python development paradigms, this concept challenges the rigid application of Single Responsibility Principle by defining conditions where premature optimization through refactoring introduces higher cognitive load or system fragility than maintenance overhead from duplicates. The theory establishes a formal boundary between obvious syntactic duplication (target for elimination) and semantic duplication arising from divergent business logic that requires intentional separation to preserve domain integrity.
The core principle governing software maintainability posits that code duplication is not exclusively a violation of abstraction norms but can be theoretically justified under specific constraints re…